they could have had the more popular message about cutting deficit spending, right? >> the truth is they would have been better taking the deal that john boehner negotiated with president obama way back when. they missed the moment. i think the real fear is who pays the price. i think the republicans has a point but will pay the price and the real people that will pay the price are the americans, the middle class. it is crazy to put us through this. >> all of the focus on tax cuts but the revenue from increases the taxes on the wealthy will barely make a dment the deficit to say nothing of the trillions of dollars in debt we are talking about. it is a symbolic fight the president is determined to win off of his re-election. >> it is not symbolic. there will be money raised if the tacks for the top 2% are left to expire. let me bring up a point. no democrat and certainly not this president, has said there should be no spending cuts. on the contrary. this president has put on the table quite an extraordinary amount of spending cuts to the sh grin of many democrats, i m